Quick Redskins news hits

As expected, the Redskins made some roster moves, cutting defensive lineman Brandon Banks and putting LB Will Compton and RB Rob Kelley on injured reserve.

The Redskins signed RB Byron Marshall, who played in three games for the Eagles last year. With Kelley on IR, the Redskins need some depth behind Samaje Perine and Chris Thompson.

They also brought in DL Caraun Reid (we’ll have to check with him on the pronunciation of his first name), who has played in 34 games with 12 starts for the Lions and Chargers since Detroit made him a fifth-round pick in the 2014 draft. After releasing Banks had five defensive linemen on the roster and with the status of Matt Ioannidis uncertain the brought in Reid for some experienced depth.

First look at Redskins vs Saints

Pick your poison: Drew Brees is on pace to pass for about 4,300 yards this season. That might seem like an off year for the king of the 5,000-yard passing season (he has five such seasons, all other quarterbacks who have played the game have a total of four). But he is completing 71.7 percent of his passes and he’s perfectly happy to pass less often because he can hand the ball off. Brees can give it to Mark Ingram, who is on pace to rush for 1,200 yards, or rookie Alvin Kamara, on pace for 750. Put eight in the box and Brees will kill you. Loosen up the defense and the running backs will pound you.

More questionable opposition: Last week there was a lot of talk that the Vikings had played a soft schedule. They beat the Redskins anyway. But for the record, the Saints’ slate hasn’t been too tough, either. They lost to the two best teams they have played, the Vikings and the Patriots. Their most impressive win was in Week 3 on the road against the Panthers. Since then they have won against the Dolphins in London, the Lions at home, the Packers at Lambeau playing their first game after Aaron Rodgers was injured, the downtrodden Bears and Bucs at home, and at Buffalo. That doesn’t mean that they’re not a very good team but they haven’t been tested like the Redskins have.

Potpourri: Brees’ 71.7 percent completion rate is on pace to break the NFL record . . . The Redskins have won four of their last five games against the Saints dating back to 2006 . . . The Redskins are 9-3 all-time in New Orleans. Of course, in some of those seasons, the fans of the home team were wearing paper bags over their heads . . . In his six career games against the Redskins, Brees has thrown eight touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He has a 58.6 completion rate, his lowest against any NFL team.

Redskins outside linebacker Junior Galette intends to pursue free agency to find a team that will give him plenty of snaps, per a source with knowledge of the situation.

Galette's contract will expire once the 2017 regular season ends, and while the 29-year-old pass rush specialist appreciates the Redskins organization and fans, he wants to play.

After suffering season-ending Achilles injuries in 2015 and 2016, Galette has stayed healthy throughout the 2017 season.

Still, he hasn't been on the field much.

Ryan Kerrigan leads the Redskins with 358 snaps in pass rush situations, and Preston Smith ranks second with 297, according to Pro Football Focus.

Galette has played only 197 snaps this season in pass rush situations.

For comparison, rookie Jonathan Allen logged 112 snaps in pass rush situations. Allen played in just five games before heading to the injured reserve with a Lisfranc injury. Galette has played in all 13 Redskins games this year, and hasn't appeared on the injury report once.

Compounding the issue, Galette has been effective when on the field.

Pro Football Focus rated him the third best defender on the Redskins this season, behind only Kerrigan and cornerback Kendall Fuller.

As Rich Tandler noted, there will be a market for Galette. All NFL teams need pass rushers, and it appears Galette still has plenty left after his two-year layoff. Remember, in 2013 and 2014 Galette had 22 sacks for the New Orleans Saints. This season, he has two sacks.

The Redskins deserve credit for sticking with Galette after two lost seasons, though Galette deserves credit too for working back from not one but two Achilles injuries.

Washington's coaches and front office speak highly of Galette, and there haven't been off field issues. For whatever reason, the playing time just hasn't been there.

The moment it became known that Robert Griffin III was going to be on ESPN's shows for a few appearances this week, you knew he was going to be asked about Kirk Cousins at some point.

And, surely enough, come Wednesday afternoon, the stars aligned and the question was asked on NFL Live: Where, in Griffin's opinion, was the best place for Cousins to land this offseason?

"I think it depends on what he's trying to do," Griffin began.

"If he's trying to make the most money, he goes to Cleveland," he said. "If he's trying to be in the best situation, he goes to one of these teams that have a great defense that isn't gonna put it all on his shoulders."

Don't worry, he doesn't stop there. In fact, he saved the good stuff for the latter half of his answer.

"He's had it all on his shoulders in Washington, and we've seen the result," Cousins' draft classmate continued. "But if he's got a great defense like, say, Denver, say, Jacksonville, it makes it easier for him as a quarterback. Whereas in Cleveland, he's gonna have to go in and he's gonna have to do more of the workload."

So, the Browns, Broncos and Jaguars are among the teams Griffin considers options for Cousins. But, uh, what about the one he's on right now?

"I don't think it's Washington, just because of, you've seen what's been going on," he said. "Do they want him there? Does he want to be there?"

This isn't to say that the former rookie of the year doesn't bring up valid points; Cousins has had to play with below-average defenses for much of his career in D.C. and the franchise hasn't exactly shown a ton of admiration for him.

But nevertheless, it was interesting to see Griffin declare wish such confidence that his old backup needs to bolt from the Redskins and head elsewhere.

And thus concludes another chapter of the Griffin-Cousins-Redskins saga. You can leave your comments about how you don't care about it below, even though you made the choice to click on the story in the first place.